(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stick cosmetic container.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventionally known stick cosmetic container converts a forward movement of a clicking member obtained by clicking the tail end of the container into a rotary movement of a rotor by a cam mechanism (a clicking mechanism of this type will be referred to as a cam type clicking mechanism hereinafter) and draws out a stick cosmetic forward from the front end of the container in accordance with a screw movement.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Sho 63 No. 31609 discloses a technique for extending or extracting a cosmetic stick held by a cosmetic tray by clicking a clicking member at the tail end of the container forward. However, since the cosmetic moves only forward upon clicking, if the cosmetic stick is excessively extended for use more than necessary, the length of the extended portion of the cosmetic stick cannot be adjusted to an appropriate length. Also, since the cosmetic stick stays exposed from the container body, a cap is necessary for protecting the exposed cosmetic stick when the cosmetic container is stored.
In Japanese Patent Publication Hei 2 No. 32883, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Hei 1 No. 79410, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Sho 63 No. 139813 and the like, a cosmetic stick can be extended and can be retracted (to be stored in the container) by a cam type clicking mechanism of the type described above.
In Japanese Patent Publication Hei 2 No. 32883 described above, the cosmetic stick is extended by a three-split collet chuck, and the entire mechanism of the collet chuck is moved forward and backward by the cam type clicking mechanism. When the cosmetic stick is not in use, the projecting portion of the pivotal cam cylinder of the cam type clicking mechanism is set on the retracting side of the groove of a stationary cam, thereby storing the cosmetic stick in the cosmetic stick cylinder. In Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Hei 1 No. 79410 described above, the cosmetic stick is extended in accordance with the screw movement, and the cosmetic stick is moved forward and backward (to be stored) by using the cam type clicking mechanism. In the extending container of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open Sho 63 No. 139813 described above, a rod-shaped cosmetic stick can be moved forward and extracted in accordance with a clicking operation by utilizing the cam type clicking mechanism.
However, in the conventional stick cosmetic container capable of moving a cosmetic stick forward and backward, although the cosmetic stick is moved forward for the same length as the clicking stroke every time clicking is performed, when clicking is stopped (when the clicking member is restored to the initial position by a spring), the cosmetic stick is undesirably moved backward simultaneously. Therefore, although a small forward-movement amount corresponding to one clicking operation set by the cam type clicking mechanism can be obtained, every time clicking is performed, the cosmetic stick repeats the forward/backward movement almost corresponding to one clicking stroke. In this case, when the distal end of the cosmetic stick stays in the container, no problem will arise. When, however, the cosmetic stick is located near the mouth which is close to a position where the cosmetic stick can be used, every time clicking is performed, the cosmetic stick repeats an unnatural movement of protruding and retracting from the mouth for almost one stroke. This motion seems unnatural to the user and is not very preferable for a cosmetic goods. Also, as the exposed length of the cosmetic stick is large, the cosmetic stick tends to break easily.